Pretzel Buns

"Buns that taste and look like soft pretzels! Not too difficult to make, these buns are great for sandwiches or as a side (especially with steak!). Try them with burgers topped with Swiss cheese and honey mustard!"

Directions

Sprinkle the yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar over 1/2 cup of warm water in a small bowl. The water should be no more than 100 degrees F (40 degrees C). Let stand for 5 minutes until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam.

Add milk, shortening, eggs, oil, 3 cups flour, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Blend with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Mix in remaining 3 cups of flour by hand, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. The dough will be sticky.

Lightly oil a large bowl, then place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a light cloth and let rise in a warm place (80 to 95 degrees F (27 to 35 degrees C)) until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Uncover the dough and punch it down.

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Pull off baseball size portions of dough and roll into "snakes" about 6 inches long. Roll each "snake" into a spiral to give the tops some texture. Set each formed bun aside.

Mix the baking soda and 4 cups hot water in a bowl. The baking soda does not need to dissolve completely. Dip each bun in the baking soda solution before placing on a baking sheet. Brush each bun with melted butter and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake in the preheated oven until brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack or brown paper bag.

Most Helpful Positive Review

Sep 15, 2011

After reading the reviews, the stickiness of the dough seemed to be an issue, so I reduced the amount of milk to 1-3/4 cups. Kept everything else the same (including 6 cups of A/P flour), and let the KA do all of the kneading. This yielded absolutely beautiful dough so easy to work with. I'm new to yeast bread baking, and I wasn't sure what dipping the dough into the baking soda-water mixture did, but you definitely get a little bit of that taste, and that's a good thing, so don't skip this step. I formed these into different shapes...coiled, square, round, made a few bread sticks, and topped with Trader Joe's kosher salt. Next time I make these, I'll make more bread sticks because they are delicious dipped into mustard. The baked bun texture is perfect, the dough very pliable (not at all sticky), and the flavor similar to the mall pretzels. Thank you for sharing this fabulous recipe...this one is going into my favorites folder.

Most Helpful Critical Review

Jul 08, 2011

This dough is sooo sticky! Impossible to shape as written. Would need much more flour. I now have it baking in a loaf pan. Not much hope for an edible product.... I am an experienced baker.... One star, only because required.

These turned out perfect! I tweaked it just a bit and tossed everything in my bread machine. If I can get it to work in my bread machine then it's a great recipe. I only used 1 1/2 cups milk, used 3 cups bread flour and 3 cups AP flour, 6 Tbsp oil and 3 tsp yeast. The dough wasn't sticky at all. Came out very pliable and easy to work with. I divided it into 12 balls, slit an X into the tops dipped each into the hot water bath then let rise for about an hour. Then I brushed with the butter and sprinkled with Kosher salt. Only baked 20 minutes and they were just "crunchy" enough on the tops yet sooo soft inside. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!

Turned out AWESOME! I used 3 tsp yeast (4 1/2 is too much yeast) and let it proof with the sugar and water. Followed step 2 exactly except I used 1 1/2 c milk (not 2c) in a kitchen aid mixer with bread hook attachment. Slowly added in the remaining 3c flour, and after that I spread flour on countertop to knead the dough. I kept adding a little flour here and there while kneading to keep it from sticking to the counter, then I put the dough ball in a plastic tupperware bowl with seran wrap on top to rise (no need for oil if you use plastic bowl). The dough was sticky but not unmanageable. After it rose I again beat the hell out of the dough on a floured countertop. After it was finished I didn't have time to bake it that day, so I put the spiral dough balls on parchment paper on a baking sheet in the fridge overnight. I did the baking soda hot water dipping right before baking, my rolls were pretty big so they took prob 25-30 min to bake (I kept checking on them). Absolutely awesome recipe, way better than store bought buns!!!

Pour yourself some AMAZING pretzel rolls! Yes, the dough is VERY sticky...I'd even say "pourable". But don't let this discourage you. I made the dough in a food processor and used less than 5 cups of flour. After looking at the dough with every flour addition I guessed that it was not going to come together in the "ball". I made and educated guess to stop adding flour and pour in the bowl to rise. It rose beautifully! I dipped the measuring cup in flour and floured my hands too before rolling it out. I heated the water and processed the "buns" like baking bagels...not just a quick dip. These came out perfect...my kids gobbled them up and requested the rolls for their lunchboxes! I am glad I used less flour and mixing because more would have yielded tough rolls. I made larger rolls (that had to be cut in half...they were more like mini-loaves) but next time I will make them smaller (like hamburger/slider size). You can shape the rolls...just take your time and keep your hands/counter floured. Mine were tied in cool knots! This recipe is a keeper! Thank you "Brittsky"!!!...my kids thank you too!

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

**Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

(-)Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.